The #1 reason your ERP software isn’t working
Purchasing the right ERP software is only half the battle. Training your people on how to use it effectively and consistently is the other half. Here’s some tips on how to do that.
We’ve been rather vocal about ERP consultants lately, kicking sand onto their proverbial beach towels by questioning their software knowledge, and their commitment to a client’s success.
We also questioned their ethics. Specifically, we questioned the ethics of “blazing through their clients’ budget at the start of an ERP implementation project” leaving nothing in the budget for after Go Live.
Purchasing the right ERP software is only half the battle. Training your people on how to use it effectively and consistently is the other half — and, yes, you need to leave some cash in the war chest for that to be successful.
But, and here’s the important part, when it comes to effective training, you need more than deep pockets. You also need a strategic, tailored approach.
“Most software implementers will train you once and say ‘You’re good to go, see you later.’ They will do it that way to keep the budget down, but that is not the right way to do things,” stresses Jacques Decarie, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, INDUSTRIOS.
And that is probably the number one reason your ERP software isn’t working: your people weren’t trained properly.
So, what is the right way to train people on ERP software?
Before we get into the how, let’s briefly talk about the why.
Obviously, no company wants to spend copious amounts of money on purchasing and implementing software and not use it for every dime it’s worth. To simplify, and to mix in more metaphors (forgive us — we like them and find them useful when discussing this stuff), it’s like buying a fast car and not opening it up when you get the chance, or buying a pick-up truck and not actually using the box to haul larger items.
The same rule applies to software and technology. “Look at how many people use Microsoft Word. How many of them really know how to use the Styles feature?” asks Decarie. And what about the myriad other features in Word?
“It goes to show how much power there is in software, and how little people use it. How many people use table of contents or even know how to use it? Headers and footers? It’s the same thing with an ERP system.”
Now let’s talk effective training
Here’s the truth when it comes to training: you can put people in classrooms all you want, and read all the manuals you want, but when those real-world conditions happen, you won’t know how to use your ERP system to deal with it.
To illustrate that, Edward Szukalo, Vice President, Members Advisory and Services Group, INDUSTRIOS, likens it to learning how to drive a vehicle. “You can read a book on how to drive a car, and then you can go practice in a parking lot at midnight. Then you have to drive on the highway, with everybody trying to prevent you from getting on, trucks passing in the right-hand lane and so on.”
It’s for that reason we encourage mentoring in ERP training. “Without mentorship, you cannot get the level of guidance that is required to use the tool to face real-life conditions,” says Decarie.
Example? Sure.
An operator calls in sick and there is no replacement for her and the work center goes down. A customer calls and says, “I know I said I needed two of those two weeks from now, but I need three by Friday.” This is where mentoring comes in. “Mentoring brings you an expert that is going to say, ‘Okay, if that happens, then here is what you do,’” explains Decarie, “Step one, step two, step three — there is a methodical approach.”
Tailored ERP software training
When training, we like to go beyond showing someone what information to put in what fields. “We won’t just throw the blank screens in front of you and say, ‘Do whatever you want, that’s what the field is there for,’” Decarie says. “We actually go through the thought process and define how Industrios should be used to support your current business objectives.”
That requires asking specific questions about your business, like what’s important when you do your sales analysis, do you sell to agencies, do you sell plastics, and so on, Decarie explains. “Then we’ll help you build three order types that will have three different work flows, three different approval streams, and train you that way.”
Small phases and circus clowns
We also advise rolling out the software and related training in small phases, alleviating pressure on staff. That allows you to water-down expectations on the first rollout, giving staff a chance to learn and get comfortable with one aspect of the software before moving onto the next phase.
That’s important because not everyone is going to retain 100% of what is taught, either. “You have to expect spillage,” says Decarie. “Your manuals can be designed with graphics, supported by videos — you can hire clowns to be make it entertaining — but don’t think that you are going to go-live and your staff will be experts.”
Maybe the best advice you’ll get all day
We’ve only just scratched the surface of training — there’s a lot more that goes into it. But if you take just one thing away after this, it’s that when it comes to training do not expect perfection. “Don’t aim for perfection. Don’t plan for perfection. Just practice for it and expect excellence,” Decarie says.
